Planning for Africities Summit in Kisumu starts
The government has kicked off preparations for hosting the 2021 Africities Summit.
The conference organised under the auspices of the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLGA) is scheduled for November 16-20, 2021 in Kisumu county.
Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o said his administration is closely working with a multi-agency secretariat formed to steer the ongoing preparations to host the historic global summit.
Nyong’o said the four days event to be convened at the Showground is expected to be a game-changer to the Kisumu’s economic fortunes.
He said refurbishment of the facility will be done timely ahead of the upcoming conference, adding that the county government will allocate enough resources to support the project. Access roads, water, electricity and security are among issues to be addressed.
The signature event, which will be held in the country for the second time, is expected to attract more than 8,000 delegates.
Some of the participants are expected to participate through virtual platforms.
Last year, Kisumu county government announced it had paid the first installment of Sh50 million as it prepared to host the Ninth Africities Summit.
“We remain on course with preparations that will put Kisumu on the books of history as the first intermediary city to host the summit that discusses the development and urban renewal of Africa’s cities,” Nyong’o said during a planning meeting at the Africities Steering Committee Secretariat in Kisumu on Monday.
The governor assured that the county was well prepared to host the event, noting that a lot of groundwork activities were going on.
Devolution Principal Secretary Charles Sunkuli said the government was firmly on course with the preparations to successfully host the conference.
Sunkuli said Kisumu had made great strides with the arrangements to host the global event.
He said the conference will boost devolution as well as the government sustainable development goals aspirations.
“I can confirm that we are firmly on track with the preparations and all government agencies involved in this activity are in good progress towards meeting their targets,” said Sunkuli.
